Researchers have just confirmed what fishing together means for Brazilians and dolphins. They studied a centuries-old practice of dolphins and people fishing together in southern Brazil and learn it’s a symbiotic relationship which is now under threat.
The researchers report how bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus gephyreus) find schools of fish and herd them to the shallows, where the fishers stand and wait. The dolphins even use signals, usually by making a sudden deep dive, so the fishers know the perfect time to throw their nets.
When the process works in harmony, the fishers are more successful and in turn, their nets separate individual fish that are easier prey for the dolphins.
Unfortunately, the traditional practice is on the wane: artisanal fishing methods are dying out, and some fishers are turning to modern gear, such as trammel netting, that actually kills dolphins.
In the research paper, the scientists propose two possible conservation actions that are targeting fishers’ behavior that could prevent the erosion of this century-old fishery, thereby safeguarding one of the last remaining cases of human–wildlife cooperation.
In areas like the Red Sea in the Middle East, dolphins are disappearing and the situation will get worse once cruise-ships start landing on Aqaba’s shore and once Saudi Arabia starts building its mega-sites on the sea, like The Line and Sindala Islands. The Sinai Peninsula on the Egyptian side is a sane and safe place to go see wildlife at sea. Go while you still can. Message me for ideas of where to go.
Looking for more? A book called Lo-Tek, Radical Indiginism can help future researchers, fisher-people and low-tech lovers of the earth, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, refashion and preserve what the planet needs. If you buy the book through the link above a small part of the sales will go to Green Prophet allowing us to keep writing good news stories like this one. The research paper on the fisher study is on the link below.
:: PNAS
